What Are the Best Beginner Tips for Building RC Planes?

[Jane Will]

What Are the Best Beginner Tips for Building RC Planes?

Hi everyone,

I’m new to the RC plane hobby and excited to start building my first model. While researching, I came across this article, Conservation Laws in Fluid Mechanics, which talks about how principles like mass, momentum, and energy conservation play a role in aerodynamics. It got me wondering how these concepts apply to designing and building RC planes.

What are some beginner-friendly tips or techniques for creating a stable and efficient RC plane? How do you balance factors like lift, drag, and overall flight performance?

I’d love to hear your advice and experiences. Thanks!

 

[Bricks]

Keep plane as light as possible with out compromising strength ie extra glue does correlate to extra strength.

 

[Tench745]

What Are the Best Beginner Tips for Building RC Planes?

What are some beginner-friendly tips or techniques for creating a stable and efficient RC plane? How do you balance factors like lift, drag, and overall flight performance?

To answer this question specifically, the easiest way to balance lift, drag and flight performance, stick with the basic rules of thumb for sizes, shapes, and relationships of lifting and control surfaces. Attached is a diagram from "Basics of R/C Model Aircraft Design" by Andy Lennon. There's another for aerobatic aircraft I can share if you're interested.

The book is a pretty math-focused approach to design, and is in no way necessary for building models, but if you're interested in some of the engineering/aerodynamics of model design it is interesting.

 

[bisco]

welcome!
there's a big difference between designing and building. might be best to build a few before attempting design.
you learn a lot by doing, and flite test videos are very educational

 

[Mr Man]

Welcome! I would recommend starting out with the tiny trainer or simple scout.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

As to design there are two distinct routes you can take, become an engineer or start with something that works and learn the things that matter and the things that don't. I'll never be an engineer so I'm doing what I can with the second.

• CG or CM if you are a commonwealth matters, a lot.
  • get the CG too far forward and the plane will fly poorly
  • get the CG too far aft and it won't be controllable
  • get the CG right and many other small mistakes might be forgiven and a good design will fly sweet
• wing loading matters
• control surface size matters but while shape matters as well, not as much
• most any rule of thumb can be broken but the farther you break it the less chance of it working

 

[Piotrsko]

I will add you need TLAR engineering except it should be a reasonable pick as a minimum. Since we're currently doing a f106 thing, a B58 hustler isn't something for a beginner to attempt, or a F117, or a (sorry @Mr Man ) SR71.

When I owned my hobby shop, my biggest hassle were rich people who wanted to buy a SR71 equivelant, and go out and toss it as a first plane in their hack yard, even if their back yard in LA was wasn't tree, building and fence free. Remember back then until Hobby $hack came along there were maybe one or two ready to fly planes you could buy.

 

[Flying Monkey fab]

There's another for aerobatic aircraft I can share if you're interested.

Well I am.

 

[Tench745]